Education, Health and Care Assessment and Plans (EHC) Team - Sefton Council

In 2014 the government introduced a new system under the Children’s and Families Act 2014 around Special Educational Needs (SEN).  They extended the age range to cover from birth to 25 years old and gave families greater control and choice in decisions ensuring the child / young person’s needs are met. 

The restructure of the system replaced Statements of SEN and Learning Difficulty Assessments with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) and placed a duty for all services to co-operate to support families and to involve children, young people and parents / carers in reviewing and developing provision within their local area and to publish this information under their Local Offer. 

It can be helpful when trying to understand this process to break it down into smaller sections.  The whole process should be completed in 20 weeks:

• Week 1-6: Request for EHC Needs Assessment, starting from when the Local Authority receives the Request for EHC Needs Assessment. 
• Week 7-16: The EHC Needs Assessment process and resulting decision.
• Week 16-20: The Education, Health and Care Plan if agreed. 

A Request for Assessment can be made by either a parent / carer, educational setting or a professional involved with the child or young person.  When the Assessment is completed, the local authority will decide whether or not an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) needs to be completed.  An EHCP makes provision for a child’s or young person’s needs across education, health and care.

Click here to access the Education, Health and Care Assessment and Plans (EHC) Local Offer page for further information.